Bus driver fired after DUI arrest while on the job

SAN CLEMENTE – A bus driver was arrested in December on suspicion of driving a San Clemente route while under the influence, Orange County Transportation Authority officials said on Thursday.

Sheriff's officials identified Kerri Harper, 41, as the driver arrested Dec. 20 by a deputy responding to reports that she was driving under the influence.

No one on the bus was injured, and a replacement driver and supervisor were sent to make sure the route was continued, OCTA spokeswoman Laura Scheper said.

According to the Sheriff's Department's online blotter, the incident was reported shortly before 10 a.m. near North El Camino Real and Avenida Estacion.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Gail Krause said Harper was booked into Orange County Jail, then was cited and released the next morning, according to department records.

The driver was a "coach operator" for MV Transportation, with which OCTA contracts to run some routes, Scheper said. MV Transportation drivers are required to follow the same guidelines as OCTA-employed drivers, Scheper added, which means they come under a zero-tolerance drug and alcohol policy.

The driver was "immediately removed from service and subsequently fired by MV Transportation," Scheper said.

Following the incident, senior OCTA management members attended "morning pull-outs" at all of the agency's bases "to speak directly with the bus operators and reinforce safety requirements," Scheper said.

A "strong management presence" at the OCTA bases was kept over the weekend and the week after the arrest, and the OCTA drug and alcohol policy was updated to increase the amount of random testing of its employees to 20 percent from 10 percent annually, Scheper said.

OCTA officials also notified MV Transportation that it would be required to provide a summary of each driver's safety record and disciplinary status after any accident, Scheper added.